Hyderabad: Telangana’s Drugs Control Administration raided medical shops across the state on Thursday, April 23, in a targeted operation against the unregulated sale of popular weight loss drugs, detecting violations at 75 pharmacies.
The violations included the dispensing of prescription-only medicines without a doctor’s note and, in several cases, without a licensed pharmacist on the premises.
The drive zeroed in on formulations containing Tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, and Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus. These drugs have seen a sharp increase in demand driven by their well-publicised use for weight loss.
Officials said the operation also covered generic equivalents of Semaglutide that have entered the Indian market following the expiry of the innovator’s patent, including multi-dose vials and pre-filled pens manufactured by various domestic companies.
A key concern driving the crackdown was the detection and removal of spurious or counterfeit versions of these formulations, which authorities said posed a direct risk to public safety given soaring demand.
Inspectors documented a range of violations, from medicines being sold without prescriptions from a specialist physician, no bills being issued to buyers, failure to maintain prescription registers to the absence of purchase records and irregularities in both sales and purchase documentation.
The risks they carry
Taking these drugs without a doctor’s guidance can cause serious harm. Both Semaglutide and Tirzepatide carry documented risks of pancreas inflammation, gallstones, severe nausea and vomiting, and, in people with certain thyroid conditions, a heightened risk of thyroid tumours.
Without proper dosing instructions, which a doctor adjusts gradually based on how the body responds, users can end up severely dehydrated or, in worse cases, suffer kidney damage.
The danger multiplies when the product itself is fake or substandard. The World Health Organisation (WHO) flagged in 2024 that counterfeit Semaglutide products were in circulation globally, and that such versions may contain harmful ingredients, the wrong dose, or no active medicine at all.
